The present invention relates to umbrellas. Specifically, the present invention provides an umbrella having a deployable curtain that is configured to extend away from the peripheral edge of a canopy.
Although conventional umbrellas protect a user from rain, generally, the protection is limited to rain falling substantially perpendicular to the ground. Often when rain falls, wind accompanies the rain. This wind blows the rain sideways, making a standard umbrella useless. Moreover, the standard breadth of protection offered by a conventional umbrella fails to protect the user from exposure to winds, especially in the winter months, and radiation emanating from the sun.
Several devices have been proposed to expand the zone of protection offered by an umbrella. One such device provides a vertically deployable sun shade that needs to be manually pulled down from the canopy of the umbrella. Another similar device provides a drape that clips on to the canopy of an umbrella. Therefore, a need exists for an umbrella having a vertically deployable curtain that can be operated with minimal energy expenditure, such as one having a curtain operated easily by a switch disposed on a handle of the umbrella.